1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a faceplate for the keypad of a load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered to an electrical load from an AC power source and more particularly to a glass faceplate for a wall box mounted load control device.
2. Description of Related Art
Wall mounted controls such as dimmers and switches for lamp and fan loads are well known. Typical devices include architectural style controls made and sold by the assignee of the present invention under the trademarks NOVA® and VAREO®; designer style controls made and sold by the assignee of the present invention under the trademark MAESTRO®, DIVA®, SKYLARK®, traditional style controls made and sold by the assignee of this invention under the trademarks ARIADNI® and FAEDRA®; and whole-home controls under the trademark RADIORA made and sold by the assignee of the present invention; and numerous other similar wall box mounted controls.
A control with a key pad for a RADIORA system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,796,057, which is assigned to the assignee of this application.
Each of these devices have manual controls such as sliders, switch buttons and keypads which are accessible through openings in a decorative and protective faceplate. These faceplates are thin plastic plates which are commonly removably connected to the body of the wall mounted control by a faceplate adapter structure.
The use of glass for a face plate is very desirable because of its aesthetic appeal but the fragility of glass and the difficulty of removably connecting it to the wall box, and the danger of its falling and breaking into sharp shards; required a glass so thick that it would not be flush with the wall in which it is mounted. Thus, there has been a long felt need for a structure that would permit the use of glass for the decorative and protective faceplate of a wall-mounted electrical control device.